Israel to Allow Flour Shipments for Gaza Through Key Port

Empty trucks wait on the Gaza border with Egypt at Rafah for the aid trucks to cross from northern Egypt on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Empty trucks wait on the Gaza border with Egypt at Rafah for the aid trucks to cross from northern Egypt on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Israel to Allow Flour Shipments for Gaza Through Key Port

Empty trucks wait on the Gaza border with Egypt at Rafah for the aid trucks to cross from northern Egypt on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Empty trucks wait on the Gaza border with Egypt at Rafah for the aid trucks to cross from northern Egypt on October 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Israel will let shipments of flour for Palestinians through the Israeli port of Ashdod, north of Gaza, the White House said Friday after President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke.

The move comes days after the UN called on Israel to allow access to the port for the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid for Gaza, besieged since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

"The president welcomed the decision from the Government of Israel to permit the shipment of flour for the Palestinian people directly through Ashdod port," the White House said in a readout of their call.

US teams would "separately work on options for more direct maritime delivery of assistance into Gaza," it added.

Washington has backed Israel's offensive against Gaza since the Hamas attacks on October 7 while also calling on the Israelis to let in more aid to Palestinian civilians.

Three UN agencies -- the World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) -- pushed for the opening of Ashdod in a joint statement on Monday.

The use of Ashdod, located some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the Gaza border, is "critically needed by aid agencies," they said, while calling for a "fundamental step change in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza."

The Israel-Hamas war has sparked a humanitarian catastrophe for Gaza's 2.4 million people, who are struggling to get food, water, fuel and medical care.

Opening the Ashdod port would reduce the time it takes to transport food to Gazans from the north, WFP's regional director for the Middle East, Corinne Fleischer, told AFP earlier this month.

In December, Israel approved the temporary delivery of aid into Gaza via its southern Kerem Shalom border crossing, opening a new route for supplies after weeks of pressure.



US Lists Demands at UN as Syria Seeks Sanctions Relief

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the new Syrian flag during a flag raising ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the new Syrian flag during a flag raising ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
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US Lists Demands at UN as Syria Seeks Sanctions Relief

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the new Syrian flag during a flag raising ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 25, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises the new Syrian flag during a flag raising ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on April 25, 2025. (AFP)

The United States publicly spelled out at the United Nations on Friday the steps it wants Syria to take before Washington will change its stance toward the country, as Syria's foreign minister appealed for tough sanctions to be lifted.

Reuters reported last month that Washington had handed Syria a list of conditions it wants Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief. On Friday, acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea listed them publicly.

She said the US wants Syria's authorities to fully renounce and suppress terrorism, adopt a policy of non-aggression to neighboring states, exclude foreign terrorist fighters from any official roles, prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory, destroy weapons of mass destruction, assist in the recovery of US citizens disappeared in Syria, and ensure the security and freedoms of all Syrians.

"The United States continues to observe the actions of the interim authorities and will determine our actions based on a pattern of behavior. The core leadership must move beyond its past," Shea told the 15-member Security Council.

Former President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December by a lightning opposition offensive after a brutal 14-year civil war and there is now a new leadership in Damascus. The newly adopted Syrian flag was raised at the UN on Friday.

SYRIA SEEKS TO SHOW PROGRESS

Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, addressing the Security Council for the first time, sought to show that Syria was addressing some of the demands listed by the US and appealed for sanctions to be lifted.

"Those who demand more from Syria are the same ones who insist on maintaining many sanctions imposed against it. These sanctions force Syria to play the role of an aid dependent country rather than being a partner in global economic growth," he told the Security Council.

Tough US sanctions imposed during Assad's rule remain in place. In January, the US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid, but this has had limited effect and Reuters reported in February that efforts to pay public sector salaries with foreign financing had been hampered by uncertainty over whether it could breach US sanctions.

"These restrictive measures imposed against the previous regime prevent capital and expertise from entering our country while allowing illicit networks to flourish," al-Shaibani said.

He said Syria was combating ISIS militants, working constructively with the UN chemical weapons watchdog, uniting military factions, preserving state institutions and taking steps toward constitutional reform. It had also launched a national dialogue, he said.

"We will also announce genuine steps towards a national parliament that represents the Syrian people," al-Shaibani said.

He said Syria would establish a commission for missing persons and was ready to coordinate with the US to also search for Americans missing in Syria.